Craig Jones decided to make an Instagram post to help advise Jiu-Jitsu athletes on contract negotiations and respond to Mikey Musumeci’s crusade against steroids.
Read the breakdown of each part of his post below!
Read Your Contracts!
The first part of Craig’s post stressed the importance of grappling athletes reading their contracts. As professional grappling is fairly new, many athletes don’t take the time to properly read their contracts.
They’re so excited to get an opportunity to be on a pro grappling show that they don’t read over their contracts. Many don’t know that they’re getting screwed over before it’s too late.
“Please for the love of god read over your contracts. I cannot stress this enough. If a fight promoter sends you a contract, please take the time to read it.
In other combat sports, they have the luxury of having managers who will go over the contracts with them. The golden rule in business is to not trust the other party. Some of the least trustworthy people in business would be fight promoters.”- Craig Jones.
Don’t Be Tricked By Brand Association
In part two of Craig’s post, he warned about the scam of being tricked by brand associations. From his experience, Jones has seen organizations use this tactic to pay athletes less money.
Athletes may have their names on posters and social media posts, but they aren’t receiving financial incentives from their agreements.
“Don’t be tricked by branding or brand association. If any organization is trying to sell you the value of being attached to their name, they’re trying to f*** you.”- Craig Jones
Exclusivity Contracts
Part three touched on exclusivity contracts. This topic has been coming up ever since the UFC announced its entry into the sport of Jiu-Jitsu.
Top grapplers, such as Mikey Musumeci have received an exclusive contract from the UFC. Jones gives advice on how to negotiate when offered an exclusive deal while throwing a little shade a Musumeci.
“If they offer you 100% exclusivity, don’t be afraid to suggest a caveat in there that would allow you to participate in certain special events. Whether that’s for charity or an event that’s going to grow the sport.
Don’t be like Mike. If you don’t ask, you will not receive and you will be forced into 100% exclusivity.”- Craig Jones
Craig Responds to Musumeci’s Steroid Crusade
Since Mikey Musumeci has constantly been making the news talking about steroids in Jiu-Jitsu, Craig is finally commenting. He felt that Musumeci was “grandstanding” about steroids, while not helping the sport advance.
Jones feels that the UFC is only stepping into sport Jiu-Jitsu now after seeing the success of ADCC and CJI. He feels that Mikey is hurting the sport, but signing an exclusivity deal with an organization whose goal is monopolization.
“It’s not the time to sign a deal with the devil and hold back the sport while really only thinking about your bank account and not the bank accounts of every other athlete in the sport trying to make a living.”- Craig Jones.
Bobby is martial artist for almost 20 years with a BJJ black belt under Professor Sergio Miranda. He is also a karate black and former combat sports athlete, who loves all things grappling.
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